I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Same old show? 'Miss Trot 2' defies talent drain
In this image captured from TV Chosun, Kim Da-hyun, an elementary school student, performs at TV Chosun's audition show “Miss Trot 2” which premiered on the cable network on Thursday.
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Second season of trot show kicks off with milestone 28.6 percent rating
By Kang Hyun-kyung
TV Chosun's "Miss Trot 2" hit the jackpot. “Miss Trot 2” premiered on cable network TV Chosun, Thursday night, with a stunning 28.6 percent viewership rating, nearly 5 percent higher than JTBC's sensational 2019 TV series “Sky Castle” which saw a 23.8 percent rating for its last episode.
Viewership ratings for other nighttime TV shows and dramas aired at the same time hovered in the 1 percent to 3 percent range, showing how well the trot sequel performed that night.
It appears to be only a matter of time before “Miss Trot 2” breaks the remarkable 35 percent viewership mark “Mr. Trot” achieved in its last episode in which Lim Young-woong was named the winner among seven finalists based on votes cast by over 7 million viewers.
Season 1 of “Miss Trot,” which first aired in February last year, proved to be so successful that it served as the springboard to stardom for aspiring and unknown singers. Considering the trot fervor that has developed in the nation, it's no wonder that the newest edition drew so much attention from TV audiences, even before the first episode aired Thursday.
The success of the TV Chosun trot competition show proves that in trot music, undiscovered singing talent is still enormous.
I'll admit I was skeptical about “Miss Trot 2” before it premiered because I thought it could end up either featuring the same old singers who previously competed in other TV audition shows or would reveal a talent drain with underperforming contestants.
I was wrong. “Miss Trot 2” debunked my skeptical theories.
The audition show is like a goose that lays golden eggs again and again.
As in the first season of “Miss Trot” and this year's “Mr. Trot,” contestants of “Miss Trot 2” competed in teams, the names of which reflected their backgrounds, before advancing to the next round. For example, elementary school age children are competing in the Elementary School Division and contestants of Pro A and Pro B Divisions are singers who have debuted but are unknown to the public.
Among other teams, I was struck by a group of contestants in a division named Once Upon a Time. As its title suggests, they were famous singers in the past. Some roared in the 1990s, the golden days for Korean pop music when million-seller albums were common, producing several hit songs. People in their 40s or older still hum their hit songs. Their stardom, however, was short-lived and they disappeared from the public eye for decades.
Their returns through “Miss Trot 2,” offering them a second chance in their music careers, ignited nostalgic memories for some judges.
Kim Hyun-jung, a former vocalist for a three-person band called Space A, said she was able to make the stage only after she got a nod from her conservative pastor husband. Realizing she is still passionate about having a singing career, she said, her husband encouraged her to do her best to make the cut. Like her, some contestants' touching stories are one reason that the show is popular.
The TV Chosun team in charge of the Miss Trot sequel knows how to make a popular show. In the first episode, they saved the best for last.
The last scene of the first episode featured Hong Ji-yoon, a former trainee of an unnamed entertainment agency. She was one of the members of a girl band and about to debut. But her attempted debut as a K-pop singer did not come to pass after she injured her leg. It became numb and she had to rest for six months for rehabilitation without doing anything. Her dream to become a K-pop star was shattered.
“Miss Trot 2” signaled her time has finally come. She stunned 15 judges with her performance. The first episode ended with her showing off her impressive voice, causing viewers to eagerly await next Thursday's episode.
The TV Chosun show successfully redefined the genre of trot and made it inclusive, which in turn helped it gain wider support from music fans. In the show, contestants are allowed to perform songs of all sorts other than K-pop. So what happens is that songs that were not previously categorized as trot can be performed. Previously people's reactions to trot music were mixed. While the older generation liked it as they are accustomed to it, some of the younger generations deemed it old-fashioned. TV Chosun's redefinition of the trot genre has helped the show gain a wider range of popularity among people of all age groups.